Councilman admits City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura says he is trying to "do the right thing" by acknowledging that he lied when he told reporters he did not drink before a traffic accident in July 1999.
he lied about
not drinking before
’99 car accident
Jon Yoshimura says he
made a mistake in covering up
a crash after he had 1 drinkBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com"I have been living with this for the past two years, and it is time to do the right thing and accept full responsibility for my actions," Yoshimura said during a news conference held yesterday outside City Hall.
On July 13, 1999, Yoshimura's 1996 Mercedes Benz made a U-turn on Auahi Street at 12:45 a.m. and struck a parked, unoccupied Nissan Pathfinder.
He left the scene and drove to his Ward Avenue condominium about a mile away.
Yoshimura later pleaded no contest to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident and paid a $35 fine.
He also paid for the repair of the Pathfinder.
He told reporters at the time that he believed he struck a telephone pole.
Witnesses at the time said he could not have missed seeing that he had struck a vehicle.
He also said that he had gone straight home after working his then-job as program director of Channel 2 News, whose studios were on Auahi Street.
Yoshimura told reporters yesterday that he did not go straight home that night but "joined a friend at Ryan's Restaurant (in Ward Centre) and had one drink."
Under questioning, Yoshimura said he did not tell police that he had drunk at the restaurant and bar because he had not been asked where he had been.
Yoshimura, a lawyer, said he remains under investigation by the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel but denied his apology was related.
He also said the decision to make a statement yesterday was not related to his candidacy for lieutenant governor next year.
"I made a mistake. I was afraid of what people would think. I was embarrassed," he said.
Yoshimura continued to maintain that he was not clear what he hit, but believes he should have stopped to check.
He denied that his one drink that night caused the accident.
"I made a poor-driving mistake," he said.
"I learned a great lesson, and I think the fact that I withheld information really made the situation a lot worse than it should have been."
City Councilman John DeSoto and Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Clayton Hee, two other candidates for lieutenant governor, believe Yoshimura did the right thing by telling the entire truth now.
"I'm the kind of person where when I have a problem, I should deal with it right then and there," DeSoto said.
"Obviously, eventually your conscience is going to take over, and you've got to deal with that."
Said Hee: "I'm glad that Jon has admitted his errors. It's important he has decided to clear the record, and that's a good first step."
Councilman John Henry Felix also commended Yoshimura for coming forward but believes it was politically motivated.
"I think he wanted to put it to rest so it does not come out during the (2002) campaign," Felix said.
"It's regrettable that he did not make a statement earlier, but better late than never."
Last week, the state Campaign Spending Commission voted to accept an agreement reached with Yoshimura regarding questionable use of campaign contributions.
Yoshimura promised to pay $3,500 under the settlement, although he insisted that the rules are vague.
City & County of Honolulu
